Atkins Ciwem environmental photographer of the year 2014 shortlist – in pictures

Shortlisted entries to the competition, which showcases the best in environmental photography and film, will be exhibited at the Royal Geographical Society in London from 23 June to 4 July, and tour UK forest venues until November. Launched in 2007 by the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (Ciwem), and sponsored by Atkins, the exhibition will show contemporary, creative, and original pictures taken by international photographers and filmmakers. The winners - chosen from more than 10,000 entries - will be announced on 24 June

The Gemasolar solar tower power plant in Fuentes de Andalucía, Seville, Spain, uses unique technology to generate electricity. A circular solar field of 2,650 heliostat mirrors covering 185 hectares concentrates the sun's energy onto the central receiving tower, where the intense heat generated is stored using molten-salt heat storage technology. The heat collected by the salts, capable of reaching temperatures above 5,000C, generates steam and produces electrical power. The surplus heat accumulated during sun hours is stored in the molten-salt tank, allowing Gemasolar to generate electrical power 24 hours a day for many months of the year. Solar efficiency guarantees electrical production for 6,500 hours a year. This provides 1.5 to 3 times more power than other renewable energy sources. The plant could supply clean, safe power to 25,000 homes and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 30,000 tonnes a year.

People living in Sundarban, West Bengal, India, face regular shortages of water. The tropical climate has resulted in different physical effects from climate change, including increased temperature and precipitation, increased salinity and extreme weather events such as floods, cyclones and droughts.

Cambodian Buddhist monks and local villagers bless one of the remaining large trees in an area destroyed to make way for a banana plantation. While arriving too late to stop the destruction completely, by wrapping an orange cloth around the remaining trees and praying, they are making the trees sacred with the hope to deter future loggers. Following uncontrolled forest destruction in the Central Cardamom Protected Forest in south-west Cambodia, an eco-warrior monk movement had begun to try and protect forests at risk.

Photographer description: The flooding on the Somerset Levels at Burrowbridge. Numerous properties in the rural areas of Thorney, Muchelney and Burrowbridge in Somerset were hit with up to four feet of water when the nearby River Parrett burst its banks in January 2014.

A group of women weave a fishing net in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam, in preparation for the annual flooding of the river and its tributaries. Fishing communities rely on this flooding to bring an influx of fish and shrimp to the region. With climate change worsening, flood levels are becoming more inconsistent, which has important consequences for the livelihood of locals. In 2012, lower than average flood levels saw fish yields decrease by 40% compared to previous year.

Agbogbloshie in Accra, Ghana is one of the world's largest e-waste dump site. For more than 10 years, boys and girls between the age of 7 and 25, smash stones against old monitors, use old magnets to collect metal and (most times) burn cables to get the copper from it. More 400 ship containers full of unusable electronics and falsely labelled as 'development aid' or 'second hand products' are emptied in Agbogbloshie every year. Almost every worker has heavy headaches, lung problems, eye and back damage and suffer from insomnia. Most of them die from cancer before they are 30.

A collapsed coastal road between Skipsea and Ulrome on Yorkshire's east coast. The coast is composed of soft boulder clays which are very vulnerable to coastal erosion. This section of coast has been eroding since Roman times, with many villages having disappeared into the sea and is the fastest eroding coast in Europe. Climate change is speeding up the erosion, with rising sea levels rising, frequent storms and heavy rainfall all playing their part.

This photo is part of a body work called Camp of shame. Antonio Busiello explains: "I have been photographing the waste crisis in Campania, south of Italy for over a year. A large Roma camp has recently been relocated in an area called Aria vasta Giuliana, a polluted piece of land between two toxic and confiscated dumps. The area, according to the declaration of the ex-Mafia boss Carmine Schiavone, is filled with toxic and industrial waste and it can be considered one of the most polluted area in the western world."

Far from the capital of Bulgaria in the sleepy south-east of the country the farming community of Krumovgrad is torn by a controversial topic: the opening of an open-pit gold mine. A local man who lives in the Krumovgrad area fears that the mine will cause severe water pollution and also pollute the land where he grows his vegetables. Many locals fear that the mine will destroy the farm produce and cause irreversible damage to the environment. Others see the potential for economic improvement and future employment in the area that currently has high levels of youth unemployment.

An indigenous Munduruku man and a federal policeman during an occupation of the Belo Monte Dam near Altamira, Brazil. The Belo Monte is the first of a series of dams planned across the Amazon, and the Munduruku have come from the Tapajós River to protest against the construction. When complete, the Belo Monte will alter the ecosystem of more than 1,500 sq km around the 'big bend' of the Xingu River. Since construction began in June 2011, the dam has depleted fish stocks and limited river access for indigenous fishermen whose livelihoods depend on the river. The dam has been condemned by indigenous groups for over 20 years.

The small seaside resort of Swakopmund lies on the coast of Namibia. It was established in 1892 as the main harbour for Namibia’s German colonisers, and still bears the marks of those years of German rule. For much of the year, Swakopmund lies silently shrouded in fog. But in the summer, the fog lifts, and the tourists flock, drawn to the grand hotels, the moody beach and the bustling cafes. The population is a colourful mix of retired Germans, young natives living in housing projects just outside the main village, and the Himba tribes people who trek down from the north, dressed in traditional garb and sell self-made jewellery crafted from found objects.

The success of leather production in the Indian city of Kanpur comes at significant environmental and social cost, with toxic chemicals poisoning water and causing residents an array of health problems